News & Notes

Published 5:20 pm, Friday, July 19, 2013

On Capitol Hill, a call for summit on diversity

Sounding an alarm on the targeting of religious minorities in America "reaching a crisis point," 37 members of the House of Representatives urged President Barack Obama to convene a Religious Diversity Summit to forge guidelines for communities dealing with religious divisions.

"We believe your leadership is crucial to stemming this rising tide of violence," the group said in letter this week to Obama.

They voiced their concern as the anniversary nears of the Aug. 5 attack by a white supremacist on a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis., that killed six worshippers. Muslim advocacy groups say attacks against mosques and Muslims increased after the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15.

"The terrible and very public episodes of violence this country has seen over the past several years deserve a response, and as elected leaders we have an obligation to be a part of that response," said Arizona Democrat Raul M. Grijalva, one of several Christians to sign the letter.

— Religion News Service

Evangelical seminary OK's LGBT student club

Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., is one of the first evangelical seminaries in the nation to approve an official student organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.

Its decision not to oppose the LGBT club is creating ripples in the larger world of Christian colleges. Attempts to start gay student groups at some other Christian colleges have been met with censorship or bans.

Though many see Fuller's approval as progress, some don't like the conditions that come with it. School policy states that students can "come out," but they must remain celibate and not be politically active.